You Might be a Young Alum If…

As the Director of Young Alumni Philanthropy, I’m often asked what (or rather who) is considered a young alum. While I’m inclined to say that “young” is really more of a state of mind, the real answer is alumni who have graduated within the past 20 years. So basically after your 20th reunion we kick gently nudge you out into the land of, er, mature alumni. Or something like that. But, just in case you need some help, here are 10 ways to know that you might be a young alum.

You might be a young alum if…

1. Your mom went to Lehigh. Sure, there have been generations upon generations of Lehigh legacies, but since undergraduate women weren’t admitted to Lehigh until 1971, chances are you fall into the young alumni category.

2. The Adirondack chairs on the UC Front Lawn have always been the ideal spot for people watchi-I mean studying. These arrived during the presidency of Dr. Greg Farrington.

3. Football games have ALWAYS been played at Goodman Stadium, and the performing arts have always had a home at Zoellner.

4. The Mountainhawk has always been Lehigh’s mascot (you might be an extra-young alum if the Hawk has always been named “Clutch”)

5. But you’ve always been told that it’s really The Engineer.

6. The area between Fairchild Martindale Library and Morton Street has always been Campus Square.

7. You once joined a Facebook group protesting the fact that admitted students were getting accounts before they even got to campus.

8. You joined Lehigh’s Facebook network before you even got to campus.

9. Peter Likins (1982-1997) Bill Hittinger (interim, 1997-98), Gregory Farrington (1998-2006), or Alice Gast (2006-2014) was president while you were a student.

10. Bed races were a thing…then they weren’t….then they were again (thanks, Class of 2010 for reviving the tradition). Same goes for the Le/Laf Bonfire.